Linen especially bed linen and method for manufacturing bed linen

ABSTRACT

Linen is usually woven or machine-knitted and consists of cotton or similarly absorbent fibres. It can be re-used but this is very expensive and therefore costly. According to the invention, the linen is to be made of a cotton nonwoven, of a nonwoven free from binders and hydrodynamically needled for compaction. The strength and also a low tendency to pilling is sufficient for single usage. On account of the inexpensive method of manufacture, such linen can advantageously be sorted out and discarded, and without contaminating the environment.

Linen such as bed linen is generally made of cotton, linen or othernatural absorbent fibres. For this purpose a thread must first be formedfrom the respective fibres, the woven fabric or knitted fabric producedusing the corresponding machinery and the web then manufactured. Thismanufacturing process is very expensive and costly. This linen cancertainly be washed many times, ironed and therefore reused butsometimes this is not at all desirable. In hospitals, for example, thelinen must be expensively disinfected. In railway carriages of nighttrains, a large amount of bed linen accumulates every night which mustbe collected for reuse at great expense and cost in all possiblelocations reached by the train, washed using a large amount of water andenergy, ironed and transported back into the trains.

It is the object of the invention to find a simpler less expensivesolution. However, it is important that the linen can be recycled and isbiologically degradable.

Assuming that for hygiene and other reasons, linen, especially bedlinen, is manufactured of cotton fibres and possibly additionalcomponents of other natural and/or synthetic fibres, the inventionconsists in that said linen consists of a nonwoven containing nobinders, which is hydrodynamically needled for compaction. This methodof manufacture is so inexpensive that after being used once, such as intrains for example or after being soiled in hospitals, it can be thrownaway or possibly recycled. This recycling can consist in biologicaldegradation or in reuse after separating into fibres. If the linen isbadly soiled, e.g. from hospitals after an operation, this linen can beeasily be discarded. The other waste is not too badly contaminated, thislinen is degradable.

The nonwoven should have a weight of about 60 to 90 g/m² andsubstantially consist of cotton, as well as raw cotton. However, flax orlinen fibres as well as in some cases chemical fibres as well as viscosecan also be added. Pilling formation during usage as bed linen can beavoided by solid compaction.

1. Linen, especially bed linen made of cotton fibres and possiblyadditional components of other natural and/or synthetic fibres,characterised in that it comprises a nonwoven containing no binders,which is hydrodynamically needled for compaction.
 2. The bed linenaccording to claim 1, characterised in that the nonwoven for the linencontains recycled cotton.
 3. The bed linen according to claim 1 or claim2, characterised in that the nonwoven for the linen contains viscose. 4.The bed linen according to claims 1 to 3, characterised that thenonwoven for the linen contains lyocell.
 5. The bed linen according toclaims 1 to 4, characterised that the nonwoven for the linen contains asmall amount of bicomponent fibres.
 6. A method for manufacturing linen,especially bed linen made of cotton fibres and possibly additionalcomponents of other natural and/or synthetic fibres, characterised inthat a nonwoven is manufactured using a carding machine or similarnonwoven forming units as well as using the air-lay method withoutbinders and is then compacted by means of hydrodynamic needling merelyfor compaction.
 7. The method according to claim 6, characterised inthat the compacted nonwoven is then made up and finally whipped at theedges.